Problem printing in dos 6.2

I have a Dell GX 280 computer the disk has been partitioned C: 2GB for Dos 6.2 and E: 38GB for XP Home Edition. I experience no problem printing files from the XP partition to a HP lllP printer.

However when I attempt to print from the Dos partition on Wordstar or WsWIN I get a bleep and a message that says 'Can't find PDF file or Drivers'. Likewise I get a similar message when I attempt to print a .dbf file in Foxbase.

The Dell was an upgrade from a Compaq Deskpro Pentium lll and this worked fine in both partitions for some 5+ years and this problem occurred when I upgraded to the Dell some 4 weeks ago.

However a couple of weeks ago when I struggled with this problem and with advice from a Yahoo Wordstar user group member I  printed the directory in C: with the " dir c:\> prn" command and this seemed to clear up the problem and I was then able to print from the Wordstar and Foxbase programs.

However today I experienced similar problems when attempting to print from the Dos partition and although I was able to print the Directory in the C: with the prn command... No joy with the Wordstar and Foxbase programs.

Would be grateful for any advice in this matter.


addendum:  As an afterthought it occurs to me that there may be some command whatever in the autoexec.bat file that may be relevant to the problem:

C:\DOS\SHARE.EXEC
C:\DOS\SMARTDRV.EXE/X
@ECHO OFF
PROMPT $p$g
PATH C:\WINDOWS;C:\DOS
SET TEMP=C:\DOS
MODE CON  CODEPAGE PREPARE=((437) C:\DOS\EGA.CPI)
MODE CON CODEPAGE SELECT=437
KEYB UK,,C:\DOS\KEYBOARD.SYS
SET PATH=%PATH%;C:\WS;C:\MASTER\FOX;C:\WSWIN;C:\PKZIP
C:\DOS\DOSKEY.COM
LH MSCDEX /D:12345678 /L:D
LH MOUSE

*******************

When I load up the Dos partition I get the following :

MODE prepare code page function completed
MODE select code page function completed
MSCDEX Version 2.23
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corp. 1986-1993. All rights reserved
Drive D: = Driver 12345678 unit 0

CuteMouse v 1.9
Installed at PS/2 port

*****************************

As the Dell has no PS/2 connections I don't know why that last line has been installed. [The Compaq, however has PS/2 ports for the Mouse and Keyboard that are now no longer used]

And that line has appeared after I bought the Dell machine and have initially used PS/2 adapters for my keyboard and mouse until I acquired these items with USB connectors.

I also note that Drive D: is the DVD-RAM Drive.... so no connection with MS Dos!

Every DOS program has its own printer drivers, there are no global DOS drivers for printers.  Wordstar has a menu item for selecting a printer.  You'll have to figure it out where it is.  It's been too long since I did this myself.

The "dir c:\> prn" command is strictly a DOS command and is of little help.

Thanks for your reply Computer_Commando.

As these programs [Wordstar/Foxbase/Wordstar for Windows] have been printing in the Compaq for 5+ years and I have installed these programs from the diskettes that I used to install them in the Compaq would have thought that the drivers would be 'in place'!

And also that the printer drivers have been accessed in the Dell just a fortnight ago by printing the prn command... [just clutching at straws  ]

Wordstar and WsWin have HP lllP installed as the printer... just can't find drivers!

Autoexec doesn't show any commands that are relevant to the problem, but I have found drivers for your printer on HP's website:
Link

Hope this helps
,Nick(macdad-)

Thanks for your reply Nick.

I have downloaded the driver described as HP Laserjet lll Word/ or somesuch for MS Dos. I trust that when I install it that it will not clash with drivers already downloaded for the HP lllP via XP Wizard [Just displaying my ignorance in these matters].

And then there are the drivers that have been printing in Wordstar/WsWin/Foxbase already but cannot be accessed by the programs today!!!

I recall vaguely that when I installed WS7 some years ago via the diskettes that I had  then to download via the internet a HPLLLP.pdf driver that I then loaded ['dumped'!] via 3.5" diskettes into the Dos Directory and [for good measure] into the WS Directory... These I have done in the present set up but whether this is the effective way to install drivers in Dos I do not know. I have, however, 'installed' 'selected' HP lllP LJ printer within the WS and WsWin programs and would have thought that this should have been sufficient....

It occurs to me that I can only install the driver that I have just downloaded in the XP partition... So how will the programs in the Dos partition access them?

I will therefore wait for your reply before proceeding with the installation.

...As these programs [Wordstar/Foxbase/Wordstar for Windows] have been printing in the Compaq for 5+ years and I have installed these programs from the diskettes that I used to install them in the Compaq would have thought that the drivers would be 'in place'!

And also that the printer drivers have been accessed in the Dell just a fortnight ago by printing the prn command... [just clutching at straws  ]

Wordstar and WsWin have HP lllP installed as the printer... just can't find drivers!

Nothing in your Addendum is relevant to printing.
I see DOS drivers for the CD-ROM and the mouse.
When you went from Compaq to Dell, you had to reinstall WS, etc.  All printing settings would be lost.  PRN command does not access drivers, it is a basic DOS command like DIR.  I might be able to be used for your needs but may not process all the WS control codes.

BTW, I assume you are using WS for DOS and not WS for Win?  Dos6.22 is the DOS ver for Win3.1.  If it's for Win3.1, then you need to find win3.1 drivers which are likely on the Win3.1 install disks.

Your last sentence infers that it is Win3.1 and not DOS.

Thanks for your reply Computer_Commando

I see DOS drivers for the CD-ROM and the mouse.

I am intrigued that one can use the CD-Rom within Dos... How would one access this drive within the Dos partition? I can only access it at present in XP by clicking on the mouse.

When you went from Compaq to Dell, you had to reinstall WS, etc.  All printing settings would be lost.

If they have been lost.. how/why was I able to print in WS, WsWin and Foxbase a fortnight ago after I had 'activiated' the printer using the prn command at C: to print the Directory? [Again just layman's logic]

BTW: I should have mentioned that I now cannot print from the Dos partition in the Compaq as well and get the same 'can't access drivers' message in there! So it can't be that the drivers are in some way uninstalled....

BTW, I assume you are using WS for DOS and not WS for Win?  Dos6.22 is the DOS ver for Win3.1.  If it's for Win3.1, then you need to find win3.1 drivers which are likely on the Win3.1 install disks.

Yes. I have Win 3.1 installed in the Dos partition... Would like to know whether I could install the Win 3.1 in the XP partition and could print the WsWin files from there... but then would the drivers be available there? 

Just been browsing through the internet on google 'installing printer driver in dos' and got the following comment in one of the forums:

The neat ones were the older laser printers. Like the HP's had their own languages built in and controlled by supplied software and could be used for very detailed graphics control.

  http://forums.techguy.org/dos-pda-other/127999-installing-printer-ms-dos.html

So is my problem something to do with adjustments in the HP lllP printer?  And would this be resolved when I install the drivers that I downloaded from the HP site that Macdad gave me.. for MS Dos and Win 3.1?

I have to find how I can install them in the C: Dos partition... they are at present sitting in the XP E:.  So do I download them on to a 3.5" diskette and then upload them to the Dos partition...

Could you please give me the dos command to install these two drivers/programs in Dos... And should the software be placed in the C: Directory? Or the Dos Directory Or the Win 3.1 driver in the Windows Directory?

I am intrigued that one can use the CD-Rom within Dos... How would one access this drive within the Dos partition? I can only access it at present in XP by clicking on the mouse.

In your case:  it is Drive D

If they have been lost.. how/why was I able to print in WS, WsWin and Foxbase a fortnight ago after I had 'activiated' the printer using the prn command at C: to print the Directory? [Again just layman's logic]

PRN command is only active for that one session.  When you turn computer off, it's gone.

Yes. I have Win 3.1 installed in the Dos partition... Would like to know whether I could install the Win 3.1 in the XP partition and could print the WsWin files from there... but then would the drivers be available there? 

Create shared partition and store all data there.  Shared partition must be FAT16

So is my problem something to do with adjustments in the HP lllP printer?  And would this be resolved when I install the drivers that I downloaded from the HP site that Macdad gave me.. for MS Dos and Win 3.1?

Win3.1 drivers are located under Main--Control Panel--Printers
Install them from that location.

I have to find how I can install them in the C: Dos partition... they are at present sitting in the XP E:. 

So do I download them on to a 3.5" diskette and then upload them to the Dos partition...

Put them in the shared partition.

Could you please give me the dos command to install these two drivers/programs in Dos... And should the software be placed in the C: Directory? Or the Dos Directory Or the Win 3.1 driver in the Windows Directory?

Install drivers from Win3.1, not DOS 6.22

If PRN works for you then you could try adding that to AUTOEXEC.

In your case:  it is Drive D
PRN command is only active for that one session.  When you turn computer off, it's gone.
Create shared partition and store all data there.  Shared partition must be FAT16
Win3.1 drivers are located under Main--Control Panel--Printers
Install them from that location.

I have to find how I can install them in the C: Dos partition... they are at present sitting in the XP E:.  Put them in the shared partition.Install drivers from Win3.1, not DOS 6.22

Computer_Commando

Your above comments has made me reassess/clarify my position as we seem to be going 'off topic'... Let me explain: I have NO INTEREST in the XP partition in my Dell GX 280. I would happily use it for Dos and Win 3.1 as I have used the WS7/WsWin/Foxbase programs for some 25 years with 286/386 and thereafter in Pen 3 and now Pen4. [I have another Dell GX 270 solely with XP  that I use for browsing the internet, sending emails etc]

I keep referring to the XP partition as I can PRINT from that 'computer'. While I cannot, at present, print consistently from the C: [Dos] partitition. However I get far better results using WsWin with its DTP features rather than MS Word.

To solve my problem [which is the Title of this thread] I feel we must concentrate on what/where are the drivers and WHY can't they be accessed by all THREE programs in Dos. As they have worked in a SEPARATE partition for 5+ years in the Compaq Deskpro and which came back with this 'can't access drivers' after the upgrade to the Dell 280.

So I guess that there must be some problem in the the settings of the HP lllP [clutching at straws  ] that must have biggered something when I installed the HP lllP in the Dell 280? Initially the Dell 280 would not print from the XP partition but I used a third party professional team who got into my computer via Logmein and sorted out the problem... however they could only look at the Windows side of the computer and also were not familiar with Dos.

So I feel there is no question of SHARED partitions [would not know where to start!] but that we should treat these two Separate partitions as SEPARATE COMPUTERS.

I am therefore left with the problem of installing the drivers downloaded for Dos and Win 3.1 in the C: And can only access the C: partition via the 3.5" diskette drive... so download the drivers from E: XP and upload the drivers into the C: Dos... but then what is the dos command to install the drivers or whether the Win 3.1 driver has to be installed via Win 3.1?

*************************************************************

Macdad

Thanks for your suggestion [it is 1.00 am in London...]  will see if it works in the morning. I feel that you are on the same wave length.

Perhaps you can make a suggestion of how/where I would install the drivers that I downloaded with the link you provided.

Ken

The partitions are separate- you can have all the drivers installed on your XP partition, this won't make a difference to your DOS partition.

Additionally, I might add that there is really no such thing as a "Dos printer" driver- each application, Word for DOS, Works, WordStar, etc, uses it's own Printer Drivers. If there are no printer drivers for the Printer for the application you have to settle for some generic printer model (or in some cases an earlier version).

For most DOS programs Printers are selected during SETUP, and there are a number of ways of adding them afterward, which would require  the installation disks- (or possibly an alternate download of the appropriate drivers).

The partitions are separate- you can have all the drivers installed on your XP partition, this won't make a difference to your DOS partition.

Additionally, I might add that there is really no such thing as a "Dos printer" driver- each application, Word for DOS, Works, WordStar, etc, uses it's own Printer Drivers. If there are no printer drivers for the Printer for the application you have to settle for some generic printer model (or in some cases an earlier version).

For most DOS programs Printers are selected during SETUP, and there are a number of ways of adding them afterward, which would require  the installation disks- (or possibly an alternate download of the appropriate drivers).

Thanks for your contribution BC.

Well the riddle to be solved is that these programs have functioned in the Compaq for 5+ years and were installed from the original disks... so the drivers MUST be there somewhere! During the installation [and in an attempt to solve the problem] I have re-selected the HP lllP printer in WS and WsWin and this is displayed when I attempt to print. AND I have managed to print from these programs in the Dell GX280... ONCE! ... therefore they are residing in the programs BUT CANNOT ACCESS THE DRIVERS. So [in my ignorance] I am assuming that there may be something in the HP lllP that is blocking access.

btw: The Foxbase program was obtained from a 'friendly' programmer and just consists of a copy... and I have had this for some 20+ years. And 'setup' is just to make a Directory 'Fox' and copy these files into that Directory and modify the Autoexec.bat file by setting it in the Path... And WHY am I getting a similar message from Foxbase?

And these messages are also coming from the Compaq...

13:06 GMT - PROGRESS REPORT

Loaded Dos partition, turned on printer and entered the "dir c:\> prn" command at C:\

The lights on the printer turned on at ONLINE and FORM FEED but nothing printed out.

Then went into Foxbase and printed a .dbf file...  the printer activated and BOTH reports printed on a single sheet!

Then went into WS and Voila! a txt file also printed.

Then loaded WsWin... and when attempted to print a sheet got a message:

"The printer on LPT1 is out of paper or is not connected to your computer. Check the printer cable or network connection to make sure the printer is connected, or refresh the paper supply. Then resume the print queue." 
Looked into Print Manager : " The HP LaserJet lllP on LPT1 (Local) is STALLED."

Exited WsWin and printed a couple of documents in WS and Foxbase... again attempted to print in WsWin and this time No Message... However the HP printer went Off Line and attempt to get it working by pressing Menu, Enter etc got a message in the printer window 'LOAD Paper'...  So turned off the printer and on again to reset settings....

Exited Dos and went into XP and here also got a similar message when attempting to print a document as I got in WsWin... Looked into the Print Manager and saw some half a dozen documents in the queue... Deleted the documents... turned printer off and on and was then able to print documents normally.

So any guesses as to what is the problem? In WsWin or the HP lllP? Perhaps a new parallel cable for the printer?

Number of factors may contribute to it, I doubt the cable is the problem if some of your applications work with your printer just fine.

For installing the drivers, assumming you have a Floppy drive you could copy the Driver Setup into a Floppy, eject the floppy, exit from XP, go into DOS and access the file from the floppy.

Number of factors may contribute to it, I doubt the cable is the problem if some of your applications work with your printer just fine.

For installing the drivers, assumming you have a Floppy drive you could copy the Driver Setup into a Floppy, eject the floppy, exit from XP, go into DOS and access the file from the floppy.

Thanks for your reply.

I downloaded and then uploaded the two HP drivers to the Dos partition. I then installed them via the Windows Manager which created two Directories in the C: LJ125 and LJ550 with the unzipped files.

I then modified the Autoexec.bat file and set the two Directories in the Path.

I attempted to print a document in WsWin... no joy. Just a message as before to check paper, cable etc. I then printed a foxbase file... success. I then attempted to print a document in WS.... and got the message 'can't print. pdf or driver files not found'.

I then modified the Config.sys file by inserting 'INSTALL = C:\ LJ125' booted the computer.. still no result.

So at the end of this exercise I am not able to print in Wordstar or WsWin. Whereas before I printed some 12 pages of A4 documents in WS.

Any 'fans' of Wordstar/ WsWin on the forum? 

which created two Directories in the C: LJ125 and LJ550 with the unzipped files.

That probably contains the Installer... OR, possibly, a "oemsetup.inf" file.


If it contains the former, run it.

if it contains the latter, then you need to install it via Windows Control Panel (did you mean "program Manager" when you said Windows Manager or was that a feature of WordStart/WSWIN? Anyway, if it contains OEMSETUP.INF... you need to use that to install it.

To do so, you need to get to the "add printer" dialog, err.... somewhere in control panel (forgive me, it has been a very long time since I used Win31) and then select the "have disk" option therein.

If I was completely confused and we really are NOT dealing with windows at all, but rather a utility that wordstar requires, I do apologize. In that case could you possibly list the contents of the folders or the URL that you downloaded the drivers from?